Housekeeping

Just before I start a big project, I do a little housekeeping in the studio. I like having a clean slate of everything. I dust, I vacuum (floor and design wall), I put away the detritus of the previous quilt. Sometimes, during the cleaning up process, I'll find a small project to finish, or maybe to even start, and knock that out as part of the cleaning process. It cleans out a little space in my brain ~ the part that has the running "to make" list.

A few weeks ago I finished up two quilts. This one. Plus another (future blog post promised!) And then I decided I needed to make my October Little Amish. And then there were the ornaments. I signed up for the Trim the Tree ornament swap on Flickr. I haven't done a swap in ages, and this one has always been one of my favorites. Fortunately for me, I also signed up for Betz White's Holdiay Stitch-Along Ornament Club. The ornaments need to be posted by today, so finished those as well. (Again, post and pictures later.)

As I was cleaning, and making, and cleaning again, my eyes kept going to the scrap bin. The overflowing scrap bin. It was bugging me. So I made a quilt. Quilt top. A string quilt top, using up all the little bits in the bin. Not really all of them, but enough so that I made a good dent in the bucket. I certainly could have made more, but after 64 8" blocks, I was getting a little bored and finally felt like moving on.

Kitty feet and Katie feet

Don't you just love back lighting on quilt tops?

So today, I'm busting out the vacuum again. Putting the scraps back into hiding. I've got a new needle in the machine, and a new blade in the rotary cutter. New project: I'm ready!

Little Amish Quilt, October

Well, you'll just have to trust me on this that I finished this in October. Or, at least I finished the top. I was kind of dreading this one, and had planned to skip over it and do an easier one. I couldn't figure out how to do simplify this one without doing a gazillion hsts. Okay, not a gazillion. But there are 154 triangles in this little 17" x 20" cutie. In the end, I just went with the quilt as planned and it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. Once I got in the rhythm of matching up/off setting the dog ears, it all went smoothly. And after doing a few very imprecise, free form quilts, it was refreshing to try to do something where everything had to be precise. Not that this quilt is perfect. Far from it. Lots of chopped off tips. Although I do think it's more rectangular than the picture would have you believe.

Did I even post the minis for August and September? Sheesh. Blogging has been taking a back seat to real life, jobs, kids, husbands, oh, wait, that's husband, singular thank you very much.

Okay, so here's the past couple of mini quilts.

August:

and September: 

Katie quilted this on our friend's long arm. Her first time free motion quilting. Actually, her first time quilting. Period. Thanks MJ!

I actually really enjoy making them. It's more like making a bound block, rather than a quilt.

Some people have asked me about fabric selections. Basically, it's whatever is laying around on the floor ~ scraps from whatever current project I'm working on. So yes, that means a red, white and black quilt is in the works!

Blogger's Quilt Festival, part deux

So, turns out I have TWO quilts to enter this year! I am a quilting machine!

I'm referring, of course to Amy Ellis' Blogger's Quilt Festival!

I'm submitting this in the Modern Category.

I made this using a variety of Half Square Triangle (HST) methods and I'm offering this as a class next year as well. It's my Half Square Triangle Master Class, where students will learn 10 different methods of making HSTs. Fun, right? Again, if you're a group or guild within a few hours of Baltimore, contact me and we'll set up a class!

Voting starts tomorrow! Be sure to visit all the other entries. There's plenty of eye candy there!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

If you ever need any inspiration, this is the place!

I've been such a fan of Amy Ellis' Bloggers Quilt Festival for the past few years, but timing always got in the way of actually participating.

Until now!

In the Original Design Category, I'm showing my Improv Log Cabin Sampler.

Perfect for Halloween, eh?

I made a similar quilt to this last year,

and then promptly gave it away. 

I really wanted to explore improv log cabin blocks again, and this time 1. keep the quilt and B. make it into a class sample. (If you're in a group or guild and within a few hours of Baltimore, contact me and we can make this quilt together!) 

My friend Cheryl of Sweet Dreams Quilting did the quilting for me. Thanks, Cheryl!

Here are some more pictures with my quilt model Katie, on a very windy day.

Thanks for stopping by! Please be sure to visit the links the other amazing quilts. And, if you're so inclined, feel free to vote from November 1st through 7th.

Peppermint Swirl Christmas Tree Skirt Class this Saturday!

Hey All!

Just a quick plug here! I'm teaching my Peppermint Swirl Christmas Tree Skirt class this Saturday at Spring Water Designs in Columbia. Take this class Saturday, and have your first finish for the holidays! Or, make it in fun bright colors for a cute child's play mat, or match it to your kitchen or dining room for a table topper. So many possibilities! Hope to see you there!

Blog Around the World Tour

Hi friends!

If you're coming here from my friend Cheryl's blog, welcome! Cheryl is a friend of mine from the Baltimore Modern Quilt guild. She's a super talented long arm quilter and overall fun gal! We're cooking up plans for a fun collaboration in 2015! Stay tuned for that.

A little about me: I've been quilting for the past 25 years, on and off. Mostly "on" lately. I'm from Central New York (go 'Cuse!) and have lived in Houston (sadly, before I was a quilter), then Los Angeles, then Virginia Beach and now Baltimore for the past 4 years. I founded the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild 4 years ago. In the past year, I've started teaching and lecturing both locally and regionally and I love it! I hope to do more of it in 2015. 

When I'm not quilting, I love to read, write, cook and occasionally kayak. But really, it's mostly about quilting around here!

My husband Harvey and I have two children, Kyle and Katie, both in college, plus two cats and a rescue dog, Chase.

Ty and Chase getting in on a photo shoot!

What am I working on?

I'm just finishing up some sample quilts for new classes in 2015. After that, I'm writing a new book with my friend John. All the projects need to be finished by the end of December, so I'm sure that will keep me occupied!

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Well, if I could figure out my genre, I'd tell you. I think my work is a blend of Traditional and Modern Quilting. I lean towards simple shapes, sometimes over-sized. I like to start with traditional blocks (I'm addicted to old quilting books) and give them an updated style. One thing I'm trying to do is edit my quilts, leaving some elements out, so I can put more quilting in. 

Why do I write/create what I do?




I need to make something every day. I get antsy if I don't. I work a full time job, so in order to get some sewing time in, I'll get up at 5:30. Yup, you heard me. 5:30 AM just to sew! I get a nice big cup of coffee, go down to my studio (in the finished basement) and sew for a bit. Sometimes just a few minutes. Sometimes an hour. I usually have a project set up in advance, so it's just simple straight lines. No cutting, no involved piecing. Just shoving fabric under the needle. It's my way to ease into the day.

How does my writing/creative process work?

If I'm designing a quilt, I'll typically start with a block or a shape for inspiration (again, those old quilting books!) Once I get an idea, I'll sketch it on graph paper, work on the measurements (I LOVE quilt math!) and then do a test block. After I have a block done, I'll bring it into Photoshop and play around with settings. I'll work on things until I'm happy with a look, then I'll go make the quilt. Because I do all the math ahead of time, the actual patterns come together pretty easily. 

The bloggers I've nominated are my friend Tammie Schaffer of Crafty Tammie Tammie and I have been on line friends for years, and finally met at quilt market last fall. We each have a project in the book Classic Modern Quilts.

I'm also nominating my friend John Kubiniec (see above!) of Big Rig Quilting. He's also in Classic Modern Quilts.

John, Me and Tammie

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to follow me in your favorite social media way!  Links all on the sidebar! 

Thanks to Cheryl for nominating me! It was fun!

TBT/Obligatory First Day of School Pictures

I still make them take pictures!

Here they are, first day of school 2001.

Third Grader!

Kindergarten Girl

Here's Kyle's last first day of school. He's a Senior at Virginia Commonwealth this year. Since he left for school about a week before he started, I asked him to send me a selfie.

And here's Katie, a freshman at Towson University.

One of the funniest things for me is that the sofa in the "before" Katie picture is now in Kyle's college apartment. Can't stop them from growing up, can we?